


Darkness and Light

by Anonymous



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Smallville
Genre: Creepy Batfam, Gen, Post Season 11, Recruitment into JL, Rooftop Conversations, no beta we die like robins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Clark (finally) becomes Superman, they are forming a Justice League. Oliver reaches out to heroes Clark hadn't even heard of.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Clark Kent
Kudos: 27
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Names and Symbols

**Author's Note:**

> I rewatched Smallville around the time I was reading those very fun "Creepy Batfam meets Justice League" fics and it seemed like a good opportunity. The fic itself kind of went nowhere, but I think I got some nice enough scenes?
> 
> In this, Bruce became Batman around S1 of Smallville, Dick became Robin around S3. This happens post S11, Jason recently came back from the dead, both Tim and Steph have been Robin. Cass is Batgirl. The Robins are a _lot_ closer in ages to accommodate this, but details were never really set in stone?
> 
> Might de-anon later, who knows. I just didn't want this on my profile. If you're super interested just ask in the comments.

The guy twirled on the ledge of the building, balancing in ways Clark didn’t think anyone he knew could pull off. Everything in him itched to pull him back to safety, but the smile on the guy’s face was undeniable. Unexpectedly, he let himself drop. Clark lunged, ready to go over and catch him before he actually fell to the ground, but he stopped when he noticed he was just sitting down, legs dangling over the edge. 

“Gotcha,” he grinned, tilting his head up to look at him. “Why don’t you sit down?” he patted the space besides him, then turned to look at the view. 

Clark did, albeit reluctantly. He might have gotten over his fear of heights, but something about this specific situation made his stomach lurch. “You work with the Batman?” he asked. The man had a bat emblem on his chest, but it didn’t hurt to confirm. 

He hummed a cheerful affirmative. “Sometimes he even lets me drive the batmobile,” he said in a stage whisper. He left that hanging in the air, while Clark tried to figure out if he was joking or not. “You’re new at this,” he said, finally. It was a statement of fact, rather than a question. The man looked younger than Clark, too young to be making judgements on how long people had been doing what _they_ did. 

“I’ve been helping people for a long time,” he defended. Years and years. It felt like he had never been anything other than a hero. 

“Sure,” he nodded easily, not reacting to his tone. “But not like this,” he half turned towards Clark, using the hand farther from him to signal at Clark’s chest, “not as a _symbol_.” 

Clark wanted to glare and say he was wrong, but he wasn’t. He took as long as he did to put on the suit because he knew the difference between being a hero and being a symbol. So he deflected. “Who are you supposed to be, then?” 

The guy gave a second hum, this time appraising. “Let’s go with... Warbler,” he declared, his lips tightened into a thin line. 

“You don’t sound very convinced by that,” Clark frowned. 

Warbler shrugged. “‘m not. Kind of between names. It’s hard to find something that means enough.” He sighed, and offered Clark an exaggerated pout. “Now I’m feeling all sentimental about names.” 

“Sorry.” 

He shrugged again. “When I started out, I was Robin.” 

Clark had heard of Robin, during his research. The kid had shown up before Clark was even out of high school, it seemed. There was no real consensus on his age, but everyone knew he was young. Some people thought that maybe he didn’t age. The adult claiming to no longer be Robin confirmed the second theory. “There’s been more than one, right?” 

Warbler slumped backwards into empty air, tilting his head back with a sigh. “I was the first,” he told him, the confession tilting his lips into something that looked like a smile. 

Clark took a second to examine him again. He was younger than him. The gap was too plausible to believe he had been a teenager when Robin had first appeared. He opened his mouth to speak, but Warbler chose that moment to tilt his head to face him. The white lenses made it impossible to see his eyes, but the motion stopped his words. 

“My mother used to call me her Robin,” he said in a soft tone of voice. It wasn’t the full story, but it was enough. _Used to_. “I tied the name to Batman so tightly I couldn’t separate them, so I left it behind.” 

According to his research, if Robin had changed, he had done so quite a few times, the first being years before. “You’ve been between names for a while,” he said, trying to match his quiet, solemn tone. 

“I was Bluejay,” he said, like it was something Clark should have known before they had met. Like information on the Bat wasn’t hard enough to find. Bluejay. He remembered a reference to him in a Blüdhaven paper. “For my- for the second Robin. It was to remember him. After he…” he trailed off, his forehead knitting together in displeasure. “He doesn’t want me to be a reminder.” 

Just like Robin, it was clear that the names came from tragedy. Both names carried the heavy weight of life and death at their cores. He wasn’t like Oliver, choosing an overwhelming theme and pushing the press into naming him Green Arrow. 

“I don’t know how to pick a name,” Clark confessed, after searching for words for a long moment. “People have always just called me Superman, it seemed to fit.” 

Warbler snorted out a tiny laugh. “Don’t think that ‘S’ helps.” 

“It’s not… on my planet, it is the symbol for my family, and also the symbol of hope.” 

“So you carry them with you,” he nodded, straightening up again. It wasn’t exactly right, but he wasn’t completely wrong, either. 

“There’s not many of us left,” he shrugged. “Even less that are- good.” 

“Us bats are creatures of shadows. Maybe there’s some good ones hidden there.” 

His words tugged on a memory. Getting most of his Kryptonian education through crystals made him feel like there had to be a disconnect between himself and the information. There was not. It was always there, close enough to touch if he just reached out. It didn’t usually feel right to tell others about it. Clark Kent too far removed from it for that. Superman though, Superman was _meant_ for this. “There’s a legend about a hero of shadows, made by our god to find and destroy the evils he could not see.” 

“Sounds like he’d fit in with my family.” 

“His name was Nightwing,” he said, and he hadn’t realized it was an offer until the words left his mouth. 

Warbler seemed to catch on quickly. “Nightwing, huh? I do like to stick with a bird theme.” 

“Take care of the name, okay?” 

He nodded, then glanced at his costume. It was a balance of bright blue and black, leaving both colors in harmony. “Think I’ll need a new uniform,” he said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick chooses [Warbler](https://www.birdphotography.com/species/btbw.html) as his temporary name because he's not sure he wants to let his blue theme go.


	2. Recruitment Briefing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I can't _not_ have Roy Harper.  
> Oliver first appears in Smallville in S6, I'm making it so he became GA around s4?

"I was thinking about bringing in a few new players to the group," Chloe said. 

"Yeah?" 

"Remember I told you I met a wonderful woman?" She typed a bit into the terminal, then a few images pulled up. "Meet Wonder Woman, she's been doing this for ages. From what I've found, she's been sighted as far back as the first World War." 

"How do we contact her?" 

Chloe typed more, pulling up her most recent city of residence, when Oliver interrupted. “I have her number. Who else have you found?” 

“Why’s she not part of the original team?” Chloe asked, curiously. He had been persistent when trying to get Clark to join them, but somehow had never mentioned knowing _her_ to them. 

Oliver shrugged. “She’s helped out, sometimes. Didn’t want to officially join.” 

“Who else is on the list?” Clark interrupted, moving the conversation back to the topic. 

“This guy’s more of a rumour than anything?” she said, pulling up news headlines. “There’s no reliable source, and he seems to be a fact among crime life to the point where I don’t think I’d trust any pictures. The closest I can get to confirmation is that the police has a ‘Batsignal’.” Images of it came up on the second screen. “But there’s some speculation that they’re just playing up on the criminal’s fears so they stay quiet longer.” 

Clark sighed. “How are we supposed to contact a rumour?” 

“We don’t,” Oliver said. 

“We don’t?” Chloe asked, her voice dropping into teasing. “You got a dark, mysterious past with this one, too?” 

Oliver stiffened at her words. “I only met _him_ twice. Are his sidekicks on the list?” 

“I think Robin comes with him? If there is one,” Chloe frowned at the screen. “I feel like I should have consulted you before doing all this research,” she laughs. 

“I don’t know every hero,” Oliver shrugged, but he didn’t relax. “You got anyone else?” 

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, actually. There’s this _maybe_ team I think we should talk to.” She pulled up more pictures, too many of them and none in focus of the screen. “They are seen alone and together around the same rate? I can’t pin down how many people there are, but I tried to classify them.” She pulled up the first image and Clark heard Oliver’s breath catch in his throat. “First up they have their very own archer…” Chloe said cheerfully but trailed off when she glanced at her husband. 

Oliver’s eyes were glued to the screen, transfixed by it for a couple seconds. He dragged himself back to them. “I think I need to tell you about Speedy.” 


End file.
